Russia used record number of drones overnight into Monday, sanctions should be response to increase in strikes – Zelenskyy
Overnight into Monday, May 26, the aggressor country russia used the largest number of drones against Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war – 355 strike drones.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced this on the Telegram channel, the Ukrainian News agency reports.
"Our sky defense forces and rescuers worked all night. The Russian army used the largest number of drones against our cities and communities since the beginning of the full-scale war. 355 strike drones, most of which are Shaheds. There were also 9 cruise missiles. Unfortunately, there are injured people and damage to civilian infrastructure," he reported.
Zelenskyy noted that the geography of the strike this night is from the Chernihiv Region to the Khmelnytskyi Region, from the Kharkiv Region to the Odesa Region, this is the third night in a row of combined russian terror.
"Only a sense of complete impunity can allow Russia to carry out such strikes and constantly increase their scale. This makes no significant military sense, but it makes significant political sense. In this way, Putin demonstrates how much he despises the world, which spends more effort on "dialogue" with him than on pressure," the President emphasized.
He noted that, like any criminal, russia can only be brought to justice by force, and only thanks to the strength of the United States, Europe, and all nations that respect life, can a complete cessation of these strikes and real peace be achieved.
"The increase in Russian strikes should be met with increased sanctions. Russia's ignoring of diplomacy and refusal to even accept a ceasefire should be met with a blockade of Russian finances and trade in Russian oil. I thank everyone in the world who is promoting such a strong agenda. Russia must end this war of its own. And for this to happen, it is necessary to deprive their desire to fight of resources," Zelenskyy noted.
According to the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on the night of Monday, May 26, russian troops launched 9 cruise missiles and 355 strike UAVs over the territory of Ukraine, air defense forces managed to shoot down all 9 missiles and 233 drones, another 55 UAVs were lost/suppressed by electronic warfare.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, a large-scale fire broke out on the territory of an enterprise in the Kharkiv Region due to russian shelling. Russia also attacked 30 settlements in the Kherson Region in a day.
The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believes that the massive shelling of Ukrainian cities, aggressive rhetoric and pessimism of Western allies are part of the kremlin's strategy, which is to undermine the fighting spirit of Ukrainians and make the world believe in russia's superiority.
US President Donald Trump said that russian dictator vladimir putin has simply gone crazy, he is killing a lot of people for no reason.